The Summer of 1964 was a defining moment for our country. Young people in communities around the South stepped forward with brave actions and bold words to bring encouragement, hope, and change to their communities and communities around the South. We invite you to join IEL’s Education Policy Fellowship Program, in partnership with The Freedom ’64 Project and National AfterSchool Association, on the Civil Rights Learning Journey and retrace the Civil Rights Movement in the American South. On this personal and professional development experience, you will reflect and engage in a meaningful dialogue about how to make a positive social change in your communities and organizations. We have much to learn from our brothers and sisters who paved the paths for us today.This life-changing experience will lift you out of the day-to-day to set an inspirational direction for your work in your community and position you to be the leader you aspire to be.
Civil Rights Learning Journey, Professional Development Experience
November 25-28, 2018
REGISTER HERE
Payment Rates & Deadlines
- $1500 until August 1
- $1800 until September 1
- $2000 until October 1 or until the bus fills up
The Civil Rights Learning Journey is a bus tour running from Jackson, Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama, led by a civil rights leader, Roscoe Jones Sr. The experience focuses on places and stories that delve deep into the movement, lifting up the narratives that shaped the past and inform the present. Recent participants have applied the lessons learned to their research approaches, organizational strategic plans, and curriculum designs. The January 2018 journey was attended by school teachers, principals, superintendents, board members, college and university faculty and staff, community agencies, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, and consultants.
Includes visiting the recently opened Lynching Museum and Memorial.
Testimontials
- “The civil rights bus tour has impacted me both professionally and personally. We have an obligation to continue to tell the stories as their modern day significance is immense.” – Jen Beutel, Platte County R-3 School District, January 2018
- “The experience was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I have never been on a tour of the civil rights era with people who did not look like me. It was engaging, thought provoking, and restored my faith in humanity.” – Tennyson Smith, Shelton State College, January 2018
- “This experience has been haunting and has challenged me to be my own movement and speak out for injustices for everyone regardless of race.” – Micca Knox, Mississippi Community College Board, January 2018
- “Seeing the places and hearing (sometimes directly) from civil rights giants also made it clear that the centuries of struggle were fought by ordinary people. It gave me the courage, as an ordinary person, to continue their work with the present challenges before us.” – Lucretia Murphy, Jobs for the Future, January 2018
- “A must-do, transformational experience every educator at every level should experience.” – Brad Skelton, Mississippi State University, January 2018
2018 Civil Rights Learning Journey Sample Program Description
Participant Reflections
- Lucretia Murphy’s Blog
- John Merrow’s Blog
- Mary Kingston Roche’s Blog
- Laura Dziorny’s Blog
- Ashley A. Smith’s Inside Higher Ed Article
More About the Experience
Questions
- About the Learning Journey – Contact Tyson Elbert.
- About registration – Contact Sarah McCann.
Civil Rights Learning Journey Team
- Helen Janc Malone
- Tyson Elbert
- Roscoe Jones Sr.
- Sarah McCann
